ASTRO awarded contract from Department of Veterans Affairs to accredit radiation therapy services

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has been awarded the exclusive contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to accredit the 41 VA facilities providing radiation oncology services to veterans.

"ASTRO’s APEx Program is a process-oriented radiation oncology accreditation program, developed by radiation oncology professionals. By choosing APEx, the VA continues to demonstrate its commitment to providing high quality care to veterans with cancer." said Geraldine Jacobson, MD, MPH, MBA, FASTRO, Professor and Chair at West Virginia University and President-Elect of ASTRO's Board of Directors. " We’re honored that the VA has selected the APEx accreditation program and confident that this partnership will elevate the quality of radiation oncology throughout the VA system and directly benefit our veterans receiving radiation treatments for cancer.”

ASTRO’s APEx- Accreditation Program for Excellence was developed to recognize facilities that delivery safe, high-quality care to patients. Radiation oncology practices accredited by ASTRO demonstrate they have the systems, personnel, policies and procedures needed to meet the APEx Standards. Over 300 facilities throughout the US have committed to the APEx process, and VA facilities will now join this select group.

More than 16,000 veterans receive radiation oncology care through 41 VA clinics nationwide each year. Accreditation supports the VA Radiation Oncology Quality Surveillance program (VA-ROQS), which was established to standardize and improve services at these facilities. Recently, ASTRO also partnered with VA to establish measures for lung, prostate, breast, head and neck, and rectal cancers forming the evidence basis for the VA-ROQS program. ASTRO considers accreditation with APEx as a critical component of the VA’s impressive quality improvement efforts.